High public spending on child welfare and education in the UK fails to produce results in important areas, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Tuesday.

The UK spends £10,000 more than the OECD average of £80,000 on each child from birth to 18. But in a table that constructs an overall measure of child well-being for 21 countries, the UK comes bottom alongside the US. The Netherlands and Sweden are at the top.